|
I grew up with the idea that I had to work hard to be successful.
I had to struggle. If I wanted good grades, I had to struggle.
If I wanted to be a starting pitcher, I had to struggle. If
I wanted to be a professional drummer, I had to struggle.
I have applied the same belief system in my career. I have
had to struggle to succeed.
My definition of “working hard” has changed. Though
I am still working a lot, I am not struggling any more. The
demands of my full schedule, long hours in airports, endless
items on my “to do” list have not changed. I have.
My attitude has.
I have been studying Accountability for the past 20 years
and this is a new slant for me. A deeper look at it. How am
I accountable to myself? How do I question my beliefs to make
sure they are supporting me? What are my attitudes that produce
a struggle?
Being able to identify the behaviors and beliefs that lead
to struggling puts me in a position where I am able to transform
them and replace them with encouraging and trusting thoughts
and attitudes.
5 Attitudes that Increase “Struggle”
- Wanting to do something other than what I am doing
or being somewhere different than where I am.
I used to have on-going stress and frustration about
wanting to be home instead of traveling; wanting to relax
instead of responding to tons of emails. Then I made a
decision. Just like that. If I am in a situation that
I don’t like, resenting it, resisting it and complaining
about it doesn’t make it any better. It makes it
worse. I decided to find the courage within myself to
change my attitude and to be at peace with my environment.
Though I have not perfected it, it has improved my life
immensely.
- Making my job more important than taking care of my
health.
For a long time, I believed I was my job. If I succeeded
at my job, I was worth something. I didn’t pay attention
to anything else. My health deteriorated. I had no time
to exercise or watch my food intake. And my sleep, who
cares about sleep? Waste of time, I thought. I would be
more successful if I worked than if I slept, right? Wrong.
There too, I made a decision. I need to be accountable
to myself and my health. I am the only one who can take
care of me.
- Being a “slave” to my schedule and to others.
I used to be ruled by my schedule. I would fill in my
calendar with whatever came at me. It would often be what
others needed. Even though I was working hard all day,
I wouldn’t accomplish what was on my plate. My new
approach is to review my priorities and organize my day
around them. I also check my level of energy and my ability
to focus so I do what fits best according to how I feel.
- A day with no breaks.
When I first started my consulting practice, one of my
partners gave me a little test. He asked me to write an
article and let him know when I felt tired. He timed me.
Once I felt tired, I stopped and gave him my article.
What he discovered was that my grammar, sentence structure
and clarity dropped suddenly about 20 minutes before I
mentioned getting tired. In the twenty minutes I thought
I was being productive, I was actually performing less
effectively. From that time on, we suggested everyone
in our office take breaks.
- Forgetting to be grateful.
No matter how good life was, it was never good enough.
I thought my attitude was leading me to success. If it
isn’t good enough, I will work harder to make it
better. Right? Wrong again! All it did was create discouragement
and I felt like my hard work was a waste of time. I constantly
reinforced my sense of failing. Now I do exactly the opposite.
When I am tired of my job, I switch to being thankful
that I have a job. When I am worn-out from traveling,
I switch to feel gratitude that my travels went smoothly
with no delays. And, when there are delays, I am appreciative
that I have arrived safely.
How about you, what attitudes do you have that increase
the struggle?
When you notice you are struggling, what would you like to
replace it with?
Click
here to send this eNewsletter to an associate.
|
